Troublemaker
by Shortness
Summary: When Red X and Raven's paths cross, he finds himself conflicted between pursuing her as his law abiding, civilian alias and keeping up appearances as his alter-ego. But the closer they become, the more she realizes there is more to the tempting bachelor than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1: Hidden in Plain Sight

_I've been working on this one for quite a while. A fluff-filled story inspired by the wonderful RaeRedX fictions written by __**Xaphrin**__! Enjoy, friends, and as always, review!_

Troublemaker

Chapter 1: Hidden In Plain Sight

"Finally," Raven whispered in relief as she glided over the endless skyscrapers of Jump City. After searching for half an hour with faulty coordinates, she managed to find the tower from which she was ordered to operate a surveillance. For the past two weeks, Robin had been hellbent to find Red X as soon as possible, and not for any of the crimes that he had initially committed to earn a special place in Robin's heart-of course, with intent to hate with a passion. He was partial to getting revenge for a series of perfectly orchestrated pranks on him, and one in particular-Red X foolishly degraded Robin's motorcycle by spray painting "Sack Rider" on the rear.

Since the incident, the team had been on hourly watchtower shifts.

Raven softly landed on the roof top, breathing a sigh of gratitude for the convenience of her watch tower. It faced the luminescent sunset with little to no tall buildings blocking the view. She walked slowly toward the high ledge, and rested her arms on the cement as she stared at the multicolored evening phenomenon. The sun appeared to be reaching out for the edges of daytime sky, whipping strokes of lavender and crimson orange like a fantastic watercolor painting.

Pushing her hood off her head, Raven felt the dregs of daily exhaustion urge her to take advantage of this personal time-fortunately away from the annoyances of the team-and simply relax.

As she contemplated taking the time to mediate, she absent-mindedly heard low footsteps echoing behind her. A pang of frustration thumped at her temple, reminding her that her career choice as a superhero was not one that included "personal time" in the job description.

She stepped back, preparing to swing around and strike the unidentified stranger, until she realized it was a young man, walking toward the ledge at a significant distance from her. He looked her way, furrowing his dark eyebrows as what she was doing and _who_ she happened to be occurred to him. He stopped in his tracks, starting intently with takeout bowls and a suitcase in tow.

Raven lowered her hands and rolled her eyes. _Oh hell. Me and my paranoia._

"Erm... Do I know you from somewhere?" the young man questioned from far away. She scoffed.

"Of course you do." She rested her head on her hand and he stepped a few feet closer.

"Yeah, I do know you... You're..Raven, correct?" She nodded slowly, indicating that she did not want to be bothered by a blundering fanboy. The man chuckled inwardly, as if he figured she thought he wanted an autograph. "Oh, no, I'm not here to bother you. I come to this rooftop every day after work. It has the best view of the sunset in the business district. " Raven's stony facial expression softened a bit, but she did not say anything else.

He raised a free hand in surrender, understanding that she was not in the most friendly of moods. "Okay, I won't bother you. It's just...not every day that you meet a superhero, right?" He approached the ledge several feet away from Raven, placed his suitcase down to his left, and promptly opened one of his takeout bowls.

A few minutes passed before he spoke to her again in between forkfulls of food. "So...how long have you been up here?" Raven looked in his direction and blinked. He was a pretty tall, slim young man with slightly messy dark locks. He wore a blue business suit to complement his appearance, but he seemed to be inwardly uncomfortable with his own get-up.

"About...fifteen minutes now." She paused, further observing him. His emotional barriers seemed to fit a normal civilian-one who was unaware of her empathy-but were a bit more guarded than usual. "You must've recently gotten this job of yours."

He looked up from his food, jaw unmoving, but slowly returned to his chewing. Swallowing, he said, "Something like that. More like a new location. I'm an entrepreneur, and I work with several companies. I just recently started working with this one. It's a bit more long-term and formal."

She snorted, but his explanation matched her observation. "How recent is recent? I'm saying... you act as if you've come to this tower for years." He smiled lowly, losing interest in his food.

"About two months now. Long enough?" She rolled her eyes and looked away, signaling defeat. "I'm Jason, by the way. But um...I don't want to seem too forward but, you might be hungry and I have an extra bowl of takeout from Chipotle. I'm not really starving or anything..." He raised the second bowl high for her to see. "Would you like to have it?"

Raven leered at him, following his words with deadpan silence until she began to step closer to him. As she reached a distance of close proximity to him, she noticed his hardened features and dark, mysterious eyes. He was extremely handsome, and she hated herself for acknowledging it. Softly gripping the bowl, she forced the eye contact to hold fast. Raven did not waiver-but Jason began to squint, like she was glowing increasingly bright.

"Thanks...Jason." His eyebrow twitched and his mouth opened and shut as he continued to stare at her. An unusually confused expression forced Raven to finally inquire. "What's wrong? Is there something on my-"

"Your eyes." Jason leaned a bit closer to her face. They suddenly appeared to grow larger in size and depth. "They are so...so big. And...piercing. And...purple." Raven backed away a bit, blushing slightly. She looked down and opened her bowl, staring at it for a while before sticking the plastic fork into it.

Jason's eyebrows furrowed, obviously noticing the shame she suddenly felt. He lowered his bowl down. "Oh no, I wasn't saying that in a bad way. They're just so...mesmerizing and unique." He stared closely at her bashful expression. "And beautiful."

Raven's head picked up quickly and the blush deepened further, and she could not fight the urge to crack a smile. It lit her face aglow in the last sheaths of light from the sun. But something inside of her somehow felt...irritated by his comment. She glared at him. "Are you some kind of a ladies' man? Because I'm not one to fool. Trust me." Jason's eyebrows raised, clearly surprised by her sudden inquiry and statement of words, but he listened nonetheless. Raven leaned in closer to his own face, becoming more intimidating than before. "I'm not your average bumbling fool of a woman, Mr. Jason. I'm much more observant and I'm not confounded by my reflection in the mirror."

Thick silence blanketed the pair until Jason shook his head, smiling to himself. Her guarded personality only urged his desire to chase the challenge. Violet eyes bore into his, unblinking. "I'm far from your everyday ladies' man, Raven. I was just acknowledging something about you that's hardly unnoticeable." His facial expression revered a quaint gentleman, eager for a game of chess. "However, I do like to entertain women with casual...conversation."

Raven could not help but to smirk. "Okay then," she said softly. "I'll allow you to entertain me, for now."

IIIIIII

"I don't know, haven't you ever thought that it's a tad bit extravagant for a group of teenagers?"

Raven nibbled on her fingernails, nodding her head slowly. "I still don't know who's idea it was to make it an oversized letter T. Well, I do, but I don't know why Cyborg needed that. Maybe it's a guy thing...I don't know. But it's extremely noticable. I thought we were going to try to keep a low profile but that was pretty much a lost cause."

Jason's chest tremored with laughter. "Hilarious. But you guys fit like puzzle pieces, right?" Raven nodded, tapping her hands on the cement ledge on which she was sitting on while facing away from the night sky.

"Something...like that. But you're not going to get any of our secrets, fanboy." He chuckled again, moving close to her pale thigh and looked up at her billowing appearance.

"I'm no one's fan...no one but you, Miss Raven." She shied her face away, hiding her reddening cheeks. This man was certainly trying pretty hard, and she had to give him credit. They had been chatting away for over an hour, and the sky was already teeming with twinkling stars and a large waning gibbous moon.

"You don't know me very well to be." Jason shifted himself to fully face her glowing visage in the red and white city lights. She had an aura of untapped and ethereal power that could be sensed like rippling chills, even by the most ordinary of people. It was incredibly intriguing.

"Well, if you give me the chance, I'd like to get to know you." She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Jason really thought it was that easy. As if on cue, her communicator blared loudly hidden under the folds of her cloak, subsequently saving her from replying to him. She tugged it out and flipped it open.

"Raven here."

Robin's concerned face appeared in the small display screen. He looked distraught under the mask, as if his room was just ransacked in a desperate attempt to find any information on his perpetrator. "I haven't heard from you since you checked in from the watchtower. Is everything okay over there?" Raven nodded, simultaneously pulling up her hood.

"Everything is fine. Nothing out of the ordinary since I came. Is it time for us to switch?" Robin shook his head.

"No, I'm calling off the watch for the night. Just come home at this point." His expression read disappointment and frustration. Raven felt bad that he evidently could not find a trace of Red X anywhere in the city.

"Alright. Raven out." She shut the communicator and slid off the ledge onto the rooftop pavement. Her long eyes were hidden behind her hood, but Jason could tell it was her goodbye. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her as the wind chill picked up, and peered up at the clear night skies. "if you're in any rush home, I can take you downstairs faster than the elevator can."

He almost choked on his own spit. "Take me...downstairs?" Raven nodded slowly, watching his reaction. The evident confusion on his face showed that he did not know how to answer such an extraordinary question, so she pulled herself back onto the ledge and stood up tall. Raven reached out her hand to Jason.

"Come on. I promise I won't drop you." She looked...fearless and carelessly able to stand inches way from a doomed fall. Rolling her eyes, Raven crouched down closer to him. "If you're worried about onlookers,"-she turned her head toward the west end of the rooftop-"we can drop into that alley over there," her raspy voice sounding calming and almost softened. _Drop? _ Jason sighed and followed her floating figure to the other side of the building. Reluctantly, he gripped her tiny hand and she tugged him into the air. The tips of her boots brushed the cement of the ledge as Jason felt his own feet slowly lift off the floor.

Pulling him higher, he could feel an invisible push of energy under the soles of his feet as they began their descent. Raven took advantage of the moment to feel through his tangled emotions for the presence of fear. Since he "wanted to get to know her", he certainly had to become accustomed to _special _girl like her. However, there was not an inkling of unease in his body. It seemed so strange that such an average Joe was not even experiencing the slightest discomfort while dangling thirty feet in the air.

His face displayed the opposite emotions that she sensed as his eyes jumped nervously from her to the approaching ground. "Do you do this for all of your guy friends?" She smirked, silently resting him onto the earth. He stepped back, staring at the strange, goddess-like being before him.

"Thanks, Raven. That was...that was pretty cool of you." He scratched the back of his head, feeling like a child in front of a fully grown woman, and she nodded in return.

"It's the least I could do for the Chipotle."

Jason tapped his foot nervously, searching for the next words he would say. "Especially since...you know, a lot of people think you're...kind of scary. Like a-"

"A witch, perhaps?" Raven finished, irritation evident in her voice. Jason fell quiet momentarily.

_Damn. Shouldn't have went there._

"Yes. But, I don't see you in that way. You're just...different." Her eyes widened, recalling her memories of the early days of the Titans. No one understood her; they thought she was an oddball-even in a crew of oddballs-for adoring books and despising common childish games. And here was someone, an extremely random someone, who finally put two and two together.

Raven stepped closer to him, feeling the salty water building up in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Jason." And with that, she stepped into a vortex on the cement wall behind him, disappearing from the spot and leaving him with nothing but a brief scent of mint and chamomile.

IIIIIII

He did not see her again for three weeks.

That was twenty-one days, seven hours and forty-two seconds.

Of all the experiences he had in his short life, nothing had come close to giving such an adrenaline rush as his civilian meeting with Raven. The Raven.

Nothing amounted to it-not even stealing Robin's suit.

How was she going to know who he was? It could not be possible. It was a complete coincidence that he would meet her on a rooftop in his business clothes, and of course, had he been wearing his mask and cape, she would have torn the very fabric of his being into smithereens.

While he cared not about the obvious danger of continuing to pursue her, he also could give a damn if she found out who was his alter-ego. He laughed sickly at this experience that seemed to be pulled directly out of a typical romantic chick flick. Good girl meet good guy, who turns out to be a bad guy, but he is really good, then good girl manages to convince him to stay good and he concedes to her wishes. Bullshit. There was no way any so-called superhero was going to convince Jason to beg Robin for a front row seat on his happy train all the way to Redemption Land. Besides, he enjoyed toying with Robin's fragile self-control way too much to give up his exceptionally well-paying career.

But what surprised him the most was his obvious attraction to the neighborhood demoness. She had never before sparked that juice to flow south for him until he met her in the most vulnerable of settings. She had no war face or no flying tow trucks to distract him from her heavenly and curvaceous legs. She was simply...there, as she was, and in that moment, she had become a woman in his eyes.

He snorted to himself, suddenly feeling a bit out of place while walking across the busy midday street along with mindless workaholics wizzing past him. Here he was, saying this woman could not change him, and he was continuously thinking-dreaming-about her. His small window of opportunity to bring some spice to his life had closed the moment she left his presence, and something told him it would be the last time she was ever going to surprise a businessman on that rooftop. He had to accept the fact that the occurrence was most likely the only one of its kind.

And just like that-once he accepted that he had no control of the situation, an angel opened another window of opportunity-literally. Standing by a tinted window was a slender figure thumbing and searching through books while her violet locks fell around her visage. He knew that frame anywhere-and it barely registered in his mind that he had already flown through the bookstore's entrance and was standing beside this elusive empath.

It took her two whole minutes to acknowledge the man staring her down. When she managed to raise her head from her massive book, she double-taked his familiar face. "Can I he...Hmm. You're that guy from the rooftop." She barely offered a wisp of a smile before returning to her reading. Jason's stomach rose to his throat.

"Uhm ehm, yes, I am. I was on my way to my car in the parking deck next door when I noticed you in the window. Thought it would be wrong not to stop and say hello. So... You read?" He readjusted himself to offset his obvious nervousness. What about this girl made him feel thrown out of his comfort zone? Something about her today seemed a lot more emotionally reserved. Raven looked up again, this time boring her piercing amethyst eyes deep into his thick layer of self confidence and further into the hidden chamber of his mind that his inner child resided. He had seen his life flash before him in her eyes that day.

"How observant of you. Listen, I'd love to chat about the weather today but I'm in the middle of research." Jason did not want to pry, as he knew how secretive the Titans could be, until he noticed the words in her book were in French. He smirked. _Jackpot._

"So...parlez-vous Français?"

Her left eyebrow twitched as the commonly repeated phrase slid out of his mouth, but was surprisingly pronounced perfectly. She inwardly smiled before she closed the book and turned her body to face him, leaning lazily on the sturdy bookcase. "Yes. And thirteen other languages. But I typically read them for the most part."

Jason crossed his arms in amazement. Now, he was getting somewhere. "Wow, I'm impressed. Unfortunately I don't speak anything else other than English, French and a bit of Italian. Perhaps, you could teach me sometime." As he stepped closer to Raven, she had already figured where he was going with this. Between his woody musk and his close proximity to her, she could not pinpoint what exactly was causing her emotional control to fluctuate.

"I don't...think we'd have the time."

This was it. "Perhaps...Over lunch then? Or maybe dinner...you know, in case a big monster attacks the city around midday and takes up your entire afternoon." Jason nudged a small snicker out of the demoness, and she covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her blush. "Come onnnn...I promise the place will be better than Chipotle." He was definitely getting somewhere.

Raven nodded quickly, grabbing her book back off the shelf and softly pushing past him. Before continuing to head for the cashier, she looked back at him, softly replying, "Dinner sounds...nice."

Deep down, Jason's inner child's face lit up with a carefree grin.


	2. Chapter 2: To Avoid Fate

_**So I finally found the time out of these past busy months to update my stories! I received such wonderful feedback on this one so I gave this chapter my all. Thanks, readers! As always, review! **_

Chapter Two: To Avoid Fate

Raven glowered at her reflection as she smoothed the midnight velvet fabric across her abdomen and down her thighs. As much as she despised the physical constraint of a dress, there was something about this one in particular that made her stomach flutter and reminded her that she had feminine...parts. She had no idea how she managed to find a perfect little number in a sea of evening wear in a department store-perhaps, it was simply fate.

Fate seemed to have its way lately.

How Jason had found her on a busy weekday in the middle of a traffic-congested city was beyond her comprehension. Raven had a feeling from the moment she entered the bookstore that her timing was sorely chosen. And now, here she was in a fitting room, preparing for a _date_. She could not remember the last time she ever said the word in reference to herself, not to mention that he said the restaurant would have a formal setting. Immediately after he told her this, she recalled the current state of her bland closet and realized that she owned no formal attire. Thus, a solo journey into the mall ensued. She could only imagine how handsome he planned to look, and how intoxicating his subtle cologne would be...

The gentle knock on the stall door snapped her back into reality as the soft, assuring voice of a sales lady floated into the room. "Umm...miss, is everything going well in there? How's the dress?" Raven sighed silently, cursing herself for lingering in the mirror so long like some man-eater.

"It's...lovely. Very lovely." Raven reached for the doorknob and turned the lock, allowing the eager woman to quickly slip into the spacious dressing room. She gasped, gazing at the ankle - length form-fitting dress and reached out to touch the fabric. Five full seconds passed before her voice rang with complements.

"It's absolutely...fabulous! It's was made for you! Ohh, those curves! You look amazing, Miss Raven!" She rushed out without a moment to spare, calling out her colleagues' names with urgency. Raven rolled her eyes, but found herself blushing deeply when two other jovial sales representatives poked their heads inside the room.

"Goodness, gracious, what a gorgeous choice!"

"What lovely taste!"

The noisy chatter slowly hushed as they waited to see her reaction to them. Raven turned her head back to the mirror, then back to the bubbly characters watching her. _Well, they're just doing their jobs, _she thought as she plastered a grin across her face to confirm her approval.

IIIIIII

Jason flashed his headlights twice before resting his car's engine while parked at the pier facing Titan's tower. He stared blankly at the sparkling sea ahead of him, which offered a gentle reminder of the obvious divide between them and him. "Well, this is the spot," he said to himself, content on waiting patiently for his date.

And what a date she would be.

What provoked him to ask her out that day? Was it just the challenge? Or was it that she was _exotic_ to look at? Perhaps...he was some adrenaline junkie, pursuing a woman who did not even know he was a criminal that she continuously came in contact with around town. Either way it went, at some point the games would have to come to an end; this was far too dangerous to even attempt to carry on long-term.

And then, all accursed thoughts melted from his mind as a soft knock on his passenger's window floated into his ears.

There she was. Jason tossed the car door open and stepped around the rear, eyeing the velvet-donned woman bashfully staring at him. Her violet locks seemed a bit fuller and fell across her shoulders in her signature bobtail hairstyle.

"You look...gorgeous." The words slipped out his mouth before he could reel in his raging testosterone-fueled excitement. Her dress delicately hugged her every bend and round, leaving enough to Jason's imagination to keep the picture in his mind long after the evening would end. Raven's face reddened vividly, feeling exposed and unaccustomed to such a straightforward complement. She offered a weak smile and mumbled a quiet thank you before he hurried to open the car door. She slid inside, admiring the fresh leather interior of the car before pulling the seat belt across her torso.

"Your car is nice," she said, allowing herself to relax against the seating once Jason reentered the car. He grinned, starting the engine and pulling off from the pier. Even while he drove - conscious of nothing more than the road - she found herself gawking at his mature, chiseled features. God, he was handsome. She shook her head, attempting to redirect her attention to the streaking city lights in the window. It was going to become increasingly more difficult to ignore his good looks after a few glasses of Merlot.

"Thank you." He turned his head to her, his expression unreadable, and quickly returned his eyes to the road. He seemed to be in deep thought, and Raven began to wonder if he was second guessing his plans. This all seemed too good to be true; some business man she met on a roof top just so happened to find her - of all Titans - attractive. So much, in fact, that he wanted to take her out on a date. Now, she was in his beautiful and expensive car, on the way to her first date in God knows how long. Fate was on a winning streak.

"So...I guess we can't go wrong with Italian, huh?"

She nodded slowly, remembering that he was still beside he, steering the car. "Italian is..generally agreeable."

Jason chuckled softly as he continued the drive downtown. When they finally approached the restaurant, Raven admired the scenery in front of the building: a colorful garden donned with elegant lighting for the evening's outdoor dining experience. The scent of freshly watered leafy greens filled the night air with an aroma reminiscent only of springtime. She was genuinely impressed.

As he guided her out of the car and handed the keys to the valet, she pointed towards the outdoor tables. "Is that where we're eating? It's very beautiful." He flashed his blinding grin again, grasping her small hand into his.

"It is beautiful, but I actually have something else in mind." Jason led her into the building and immediately turned left up a winding staircase. As they reached the top, the entire restaurant stretched across the view of the banister as a host greeted them courteously. She showed the pair to a small table on reserve in the center of the upper floor. Surrounding the table was a delicately placed miniature indoor garden of lavender and hyacinth with an accompanying balcony view of the courtyard. The fragrance sent the butterflies in Raven's stomach into a flurry of excitement. "This, Miss Raven, is _our_ table."

She stared at the sight in awe. "You did...all of this...for me?" Jason pulled out her chair, exuding confidence. He was on a roll tonight.

"The restaurant actually did it. I'm just the guy who made the requests." She slowly sat, her face still with shock. He followed her actions, seating himself as he raised an eyebrow. "Is there...something wrong or not up to your liking?"

She shut her gaping mouth, looking down in her lap to find the courage to hold her reckless emotions together. "No," she whispered quickly. "Nothing's wrong. Everything is perfect. It's just...so much, and...am I really this important?"

"Well, of course." He reached over beside him to grab a stray hyacinth from the closest pot, and promptly laid it in front of her calculating sight. "I can tell there's more depth to you than a simple rose." She looked at his offering for a moment before taking it into her hands, reveling the strong scent and the obvious metaphor.

"You're right about that, but...it takes time and patience to learn more about me. I'm _not_ always an open book and I'm especially not an overnight type of girl." She shot her eyes up to him, saying more underlying words with her glare. He leaned back in his chair, cheesing at his date. _We'll see about that._

"Okay. I get that, it's understood. But tell me...where do I start?"

Raven shrugged. "You tell me."

He chuckled inwardly. "Okay...Raven..is.. Raven your real name? It's sounds like it. I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't-"

"Yes, technically it is."

Jason blinked, unsure of what to make of her answer. "Technically?"

She nodded, sipping her red wine. "I have...other aliases. For special purposes."

His eyebrows raised expressively, and he leaned forward with interest. "Name one."

Raven paused swirling her wine around in the glass, watching the strawberry at the bottom bounce around the bubbles. He was pushing it, but she figured she could give him one name.

"Rachel."

He smirked. "Hmm..it suits you."

"Not really. I don't particularly like it."

He laughed aloud, bringing her attention away from her glass to his gleaming white teeth. He dressed suave and clean-cut, with his previously messy dark locks coiffed like an Old Hollywood debonair. Raven quickly set her wine down and away from her lips. If she didn't quit while she was ahead, she could end up doing something she would regret tonight...too soon.

"Okay then...what do you look for in a mate? I mean...do they all have to be superheroes, with powers and the like?"

Raven paused, lightly tapping her fingers on the crimson table-cloth before speaking. When did she ever _look_ for a man period? She did not date. She may have had a romance or two in her day, but she certainly did not go out looking for one.

"Hmm. Well, no, not at all. You're not a superhero, and I-...well, I I'm not into guys with superpowers just because I'm a Titan. As long as you're _not _a complete empty-headed fool, and you're honest and kind. Most of all, very...understanding. That's what makes a man interesting to me." Jason nodded, reading between the lines of her words. He knew exactly what she meant.

He leaned in, floating his woody musk into her nostrils. "I think we're on the same page."

Raven blinked slowly, waiting for his continued response.

"What I would really love is a woman who is very understanding as well," He added. "She's aware that I'm very career-oriented, I prefer to dine out, and I'm-" He shrugged, well aware of his next statement- "a hopeless romantic. I hope that doesn't chase you off, since you don't seem to be into the wine-and-dine routine."

"I never said that," she rushed to reply, picking up her butter knife and bread. "I understand where you're coming from, although I'm not into romance as much as you, I certainly don't mind it." Her expression softened with generosity. "Especially when a man like yourself does all of this for me. It's very beautiful..."

"Well, I have to be more creative with a woman like you," He chuckled nervously. "I've heard many people say that about romance too, but you'd be surprised how your opinion changes once the right person shows you otherwise." With his last words, Jason eyed her behind his glass at his lips, sending a chill tremoring down Raven's spine. But something inside of her chimed at the thought of a romantic evening ending with the smooth suited man in front of her.

"Well then... you did say you wanted me to teach you a language. Perhaps, we both can show each other a thing or two." His eyebrows skyrocketed as she sensed a wave of lust washing over his aura. He smiled, nodding to himself and acknowledging her crafty comeback.

"I see we can learn a lot from each other. "

"Indeed."

The pair enjoyed the subsequent silence and proceeded to nibble on the salad and bread; all the while sneaking glances at each other's features. Raven could feel his curiosity peak every few moments; he would take long pauses between each bite of food just to watch her as she observed the courtyard view from her seat. The experience gave her an all new appreciation for the tower's position in the center of the bay, as well as her bedroom's site facing the endless Pacific Ocean. As Raven returned her sights to her date, the waiter had finally appeared above the staircase with two plentiful entrées for the pair.

"Mmmm...gotta love their chicken parm," Jason whispered, licking his lips as the steaming plate was carefully placed in front of him.

"And to think I thought you were the type to order something you could barely pronounce," Raven joked, sticking her fork in a vibrantly green piece of steamed asparagus. He chuckled, slowly sipping his freshly refilled wine.

"Well, I know it's hard to believe, but you could say I'm a simple man." His grin gleamed against the rose-tinted liquid in his hand. The bubbles swimming around the glass mesmerized Raven, but the drink continued to bounce around even after he set it back down. There was a reoccurring vibration that made it shake subtly, bringing the odd occurrence to her attention.

Once, twice, three times...

Slowly, each vibration became more intense.

Raven stopped chewing, jaw slack as she stared at both of their shaking glasses. _Oh no_.

"Are... you okay? Raven?" Jason inquired, confused as to why his date was wearing an expression of dread and oncoming stress. He sat there, unaware of her realization, until he noticed what she held her focus on. Raven rose to her feet quickly, eyes darting left and right before she glided over to the balcony. "Raven? What's going on?" He fumbled out of his seat, a sense of impending disaster washing over him as he somehow knew that the evening was not taking the turn he had desired.

"Dear Azar...of all the nights," she mumbled under her breath, watching a most unfortunate sight to see down the road. Starbolts whizzed across the star-speckled sky as an enormous blob of radioactive chemical misfortune stomped down the street, causing havoc in its track. "Plasmus."

"What the hell is a Plasmus?" Jason stretched over her head, gasping at the sight of the monster, who was still at a great distance, but was causing the patrons dining in the gardens to panic and flee.

"I've got to stop him."

"Him?! It's a him?" he gawked in frustration, believing that all of his hard work to perfect the evening would all collapse in his face. He should have known better than to pick a restaurant in the heart of downtown Jump-every villain's ideal center of destruction.

She nodded, accepting her current role to rescue the patrons before something terrible happened to the building's structure. As much as she wanted to continue experiencing this night as normal as possible with him, she knew she was far from that. Saving the city came first, and her love life had to be put on the back burner. "Jason...I'm sorry but our date has to get cut short."

He stared at her, sarcasm evident in his eyes as he cooed, "Well, that's pretty obvious." Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it is. Look, dont take it that way. It's just ridiculous how this thing just happened to pop up tonight-" A loud, craning groan wailed throughout the restaurant, causing shrieks of fear to echo following it. Sounds of a crashing wall was audible as the floor rocked from the loss of stability. Raven reached for Jason's hand, sensing anxiety and fear course through her at moment's touch. She tugged him in her direction as she dashed toward the staircase, following the growing swarm of patrons heading for the exit.

As they stepped outside, another formation of the restaurant began to collapse, and Raven managed to catch sight of the putrid highly acidic liquid projected by Plasmus on the sinking left side of the roof. Without a gasp, she felt gripping hands pull her backwards around a column. A sickening splash sounded off as more of Plasmus' discharge crashed on the grass in front of them. Raven looked around, bewildered when she noticed Jason's arms around her waist, pulling her further away from the collapsing structure around the crowd of frantic citizens.

Even though Plasmus was not even on their avenue, he was clearly making a mess wherever he was. "It looks like it's coming from over the Jump Depository building," Jason informed her in her ear over the loud shrieks and cries. Nevermind that he had just saved her from a disgusting heap of highly corrosive acid.

Just then, she realized her communicator was left in the building. _God, Robin must be going insane right now. _She turned to face Jason a deep frown clear in the depths of her eyes. Somehow, he had already known what was to come.

"Go ahead, I know you've got to take care of this. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. And I'll keep this safe," he held her clutch up, and her jaw dropped.

"Good God. Thank you." Raven grabbed it from his grasp and snatched out her communicator, seeing that Robin was calling her with a code red symbol flashing across the screen. She anxiously swallowed before answering.

"RAVEN! Where the _fuck_ are you?!" Robin sneered angrily. "Plasmus-"

"I'm right here, Robin, I'm taking care of a collapsing building with a full house."

"Hurry, Raven, please! We need you to deal with him! Send me your coordinates so that you can switch places with Beast Boy and Cy!" With his last words, she shut the device, groaning.

At that point, most of the patrons were outside, in a panicking rush to their cars, if they were still in one piece. She looked to Jason one more time before turning towards the trouble ahead. He watched her as she flew toward to center the projectile slime, freezing blobs in stop motion before they could cause anymore destruction.

He stared blankly at her clutch before pocketing it. What exactly was he getting himself into?

IIIIIII

A massive shockwave threw Raven into a bus stop bench, snagging her velvet dress under her bottom and ripping a long tear from right down to the edge. Her shoulder scraped against the cement, making her painfully bite her lower lip. She wished that Jason had just taken her out of town all together; maybe then, she would not have to go on a date with the ever-present reminder of her violent career choice outside her window.

A green gloved hand reached out for hers and pulled her up on her feet. Wobbling slightly, she rubbed her temples with frustration. "Who in the _hell_ let this guy loose?"

Robin shrugged, subconsciously noticing his teammate wearing a dress and heels. Now was not the time for him to reprimand her for being late. "You know he's always a challenge. Look, I'll distract him for you. and you take care of him the way you always do," he urged, grappling away to the epicenter of the turmoil. Raven hoisted up the hem of her rags, levitating as she crossed her legs Indian style.

"Plasmus' demise is well overdue."

Whispering her incantation, she exerted her soul self in his' direction, flying into the core of the monster where the awakened boy resided. Looming around him, she sank into his conscious and proceeded to force his mind into a deep coma. Slowly, but surely, the monster began to shed the acidic liquid that coated him until no more remained but the unconscious boy.

Finally," Cyborg sighed in relief when he noticed the discontinued rampage of oozing matter being tossed over the buildings dividing him and Beast Boy and Plasmus. He turned to the lingering restaurant patrons, who were proceeding to the end of the street with the least amount of destruction. "Everyone," He exclaimed in their direction, "be sure to avoid 13th Avenue!"

As the rest of the team joined him, they encircled Raven with generosity. "I can pretty much confidently say that Raven is the only one who can knock down Plasmus," he boomed, grinning down at his teammate.

"I agree, Cyborg! Raven takes the Plasmus down most effectively!" Starfire wrapped her slender, yet strong arms around her best friend, reminding Raven of the oncoming bruise forming on her shoulder.

Robin, however, glowered at her in disapproval, much to everyone's attention. The situation could have had a lot less damage if she was not missing in action during the first half of the battle. "You're still not off the hook, Raven. Where were you when we first arrived? And what are you dressed like that for?"

A silence fell over the group as they all considered his questions and remembered their initial struggle with the villain. Raven's heart pounded, unsure of what to say, until she noticed Jason standing near the end of the block, alone. _Perfect timing._ She mumbled "excuse me" before hurrying to him, her torn dress flailing behind her.

Jason's expression seemed very run down until he caught sight of her running in his direction. A smile appeared on his empty face, although she could not feel it in his emotions. "So you're a tough girl after all." Raven grinned with relief, sincerely happy that he was not upset with her leaving him to fight. "And you look pretty hot, to be honest. I like my women aggressive."

She rolled her eyes. What an ass.

"Whatever. But I hope this didn't ruin..."

"No, don't worry about it. If you don't mind, we'll make plans again sometime. Perhaps, on a bad guys' off day." He handed her the clutch and she sighed, exhausted, and thanked him.

IIIIIII

"She was on a date?" Beast Boy asked, stepping over rubble and dusting off his suit. Robin nodded, eyes fixated on the interaction going on between Raven and the young man she was conversing with.

"Apparently." He was too far to see his face, and his back was to the team. However, his gestures and posture seemed very familiar. Before Robin could begin to question the man's identity, he was distracted by the noisy droning of Beast Boy, and his thoughts began to recede back into the depths of his mind.

"So you're crashing dates now, dude?" Beast Boy scolded the unconscious boy, who was being injected with coma-inducing drugs by police personnel. He shook his head at him in disappointment, and kicked a rock at the stretcher. "That's all time low for you, Plasmus."


	3. Chapter 3: Two Flames

**Chapter 3: Two Flames  
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The tattered and soiled edges of her new dress only encouraged Raven to sink further into depression. "What could possibly go wrong?" seemed to be the ironic question of the night. She glided past her teammates, ignoring their calls straight to her sanctuary.

"Uhhggh. So. Much. Time. Wasted..." Raven mumbled into her pillow after collapsing in a heap of frustration on her bed. Everything seemed to be going great - he was a great guy, albeit full of himself at times, but he was genuinely interested in her. Now, she was absolutely sure Jason wanted nothing to do with her at that point, seeing that she attracted disaster wherever she went. Stupid Plasmus. Stupid crime-ridden city. Stupid job.

A sense of finality overcame her and she pushed herself off the bed, ripping off what was left of her clothes. She stared at the torn fabric, of what once was her first special occasion dress in years. How could something so beautiful end so badly?

As if it wanted to add to Raven's current state of utter frustration, the siren alarm went off throughout the tower. _Such impeccable timing._

The swishing sound of her door tugged her attention to her own state of undress as Robin stepped inside, anticipating to have seen something much different. His masked eyes widened and he took a step back, hesitant and unsure if he should leave or not.

"The door was closed for a reason, boy blunder," she droned, wrapping one arm around her chest while searching for something to cover herself with. He raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I was just coming to tell you that you can sit this one out tonight," his eyes remained fixated on the ground in modesty. "I understand what happened tonight, and I know Plasmus drained a lot of energy out of you." Raven stared daggers into him, determined to make him feel uncomfortable while she dressed herself. So now, he wanted to play reasonable leader.

"Who is it this time, Robin?" She growled, looking over her shoulder while she telekinetically zipped her suit up in the back.

"Red X." Raven rolled her eyes, palming her face. What was up with this onslaught of tough villains today? Everyone seemed to be hell bent on ruining her day, including Robin's biggest fan.

"What is his _problem_ lately? Did you say something about his mother last time you encountered him?" Robin shrugged, giving an air of exhaustion and loss of motivation.

"I must have, obviously. I'll keep you posted." He gave her one last look, with eyes that deceived his emotions, and left. With the closing of her door, Raven exhaled with relief; for once, she could actually get some sleep. As she turned for her bed, she stepped on something hard: her clutch.

She leaned down to pick it up, seeing that it had not one scratch. She softly smiled to herself, remembering Jason's words, when she noticed a tiny square of a napkin sticking out of the side of the purse. Un-latching the clamp, she grabbed the napkin, reading the scribbled words folded on the inside. Her heart thumped hard and skipped several beats as she stepped backwards, bumping into her bookcase. _So, he wasn't scared off after all._

IIIIIII

Robin glared at the masked thief standing before him, mocking his very existence. As far as he was concerned, Red X was an enemy of the state, even for the pettiest of crimes. Even though the team had caught him hitting a small jewelry store, Robin had a sinking feeling that more was to come; this was only grazing the surface of the trouble to come.

"What's wrong, bird boy? You look a little...pissy." He lazily lounged against the glass counter encasing expensive jewelry. No matter what Robin did, Red X would always have the upper hand. It was as if he knew which buttons to push, and which lines to cross. The thick, cloudy tension in the air fogged around the team, making everyone - except the pair facing off - feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm tired of looking at your face. Every time I turn around you're always being a menace to my existence."

Red X cocked his head to the side, giving off an eerie appearance like a skull floating in the dark. He was toying him, waiting for the moment to make his grand exit. Just a few more jabs, and he would be ready to go. "Whoa, now, I thought we were cool, birdboy. I had no idea you were unhappy in this relationship. So where's the other birdie? Or is she waiting around the corner for me like always?" His menacing grin could be felt through the mask as the conversation made a turn for the worst. "Did you like the gift I left for you on your bike?"

Robin gritted his teeth, clenching his fists so hard that they became numb. This was it. Red X had him eating out of the palm of his hand. Just a few seconds more...

"Well I can see it wasn't very appreciated. That's fine, I'll just be on my way with my merchandise. And just when I took the time out of my _very_ busy schedule to give you another present," he tisked, cuing Robin's eyes to widen. "I hope you like it more than the first." With his last word, a deafening explosion sounded off outside the jewelry store, momentarily taking the team's attention from Red X. One and a half of a second was all the time he needed.

Robin turned back around to see that his enemy disappeared and the R-cycle had all but been ripped to shreds by a mini-bomb Red X planted. He had lost them both in a blink of an eye. As the Titans exited the store, the police pulled up, loud sirens blaring as if they were on time. Robin kneeled down to pick up a piece of his exploded vehicle, his shadow flickering on the ground by the flames.

This was it.

The team surrounded the silently furious leader, incredulous expressions on each of their faces. "We'll have to build another one, Rob. Don't worry." Cyborg chimed behind him. "But he's gonna pay for this."

Robin rose to his feet, narrowing his eyes at the endless skyline. Red X could be anyone, anywhere, at anytime. But at that moment, he had sworn to himself that he would track him down and end his _games_. "He most certainly will," he sneered, accepting the challenge. "He most certainly will."

IIIIIII

"How am I supposed to find this guy...in all of this?" Raven mumbled to herself, finding the end of her journey in the middle of a street market. She had followed the exact address that Jason indicated in the note he left for her, and asked that she come at 1pm sharp. What he obviously did not count on was the inescapable lunch crowd. However, this area of the city was incredibly cultured-drawing Raven to the familiar scents and foods reminiscent of her childhood.

Tents and booths offering samples of various types of dishes displayed beautiful tapestries, flags, ornamental jewelry, and colorful clothes. Raven felt like a sponge struggling to stay dry with the onslaught of different languages and emotions around her.

Just then, a ghost of a scent took her for surprise: incense reminiscent of the temples of Azarath. The monks would burn it particularly on days of complete meditation. The smell of it brought her great peace, even in the overcrowded marketplace. The sensation held her tight in a bubble of warm, jovial bliss, and pulled her closer to the tent from which it originated.

Standing behind a table filled with various metaphysical merchandise was a small, silver-haired woman with an air of wisdom for millennia. She paused, watching Raven and intently. After a minute or two, she finally smiled softly, offering a box of incense. "I call it Breath of Life. It smells as close as one could imagine such a thing," she giggled, holding it out further. "To this day, I don't know how I stumbled upon it. I'll tell you what, you take it, and I'll throw in a free selenite palm stone."

Raven stared at the tiny woman before her, seeing an energetic aura around her that seemed void of ill intent. She nodded slowly, pulling out her wallet when a firm grip held fast to her shoulder. "Hold on now, I've got it," spoke a deep, confident voice from behind her. She swung around, expecting the worst until she saw the very man she had come to this place to meet.

"Here you go, ma'am, will this cover it?" He handed a bill to the vendor. She reluctantly took it, but not without forcing shears of distrust deep into his eyes, breaking down his mental barriers one by one. It was a total different transaction between the two, as if she had distasteful memories of him from long ago. Jason retracted his hand slowly, wrapping the other around Raven's waist. The pair thanked the old woman and quickly left the street market through an alley between buildings.

"What the hell do you think that all about, huh?" He grumbled to Raven, leading her to a locked door beside a dumpster. He waved a card at the scanner under the steel doorknob and guided her through the entrance.

"I'm not sure...do you know her?"

"Never saw that woman before a day in my life. Wait...nevermind. I've seen her at the street market before. She's always selling incense and other creepy shit. But I've never seen her stare at me like that before." The two waited by the elevator.

"Well...her incense smelled...nice. And you didn't have to pay, it was only 10 dollars." The elevator dinged, sliding open as they stepped inside. Jason pressed the 15th floor, adjusting his collar with underlying pride.

"I'm a gentleman, Raven. You won't have to pay for anything as long as I'm around." She rolled her eyes, but inwardly lightened up, remembering that Jason liked to treat her, no matter the purchase. He was charming, even in the simplest of situations. Still, the vendor remained on her mind. That incense was not very common on Earth.

When they arrived on the floor, Jason led her down the hall to the last door on the right. "So," he began, turning the key, "Here's your surprise...voila!"

Raven stepped inside what initially was a studio apartment, but the walls were covered with empty canvas and small round tables with buckets of miscellaneous art media. Sitting on the kitchen island were two picnic baskets and a bottle of champagne. "So yeah, I have an art studio," he started, as Raven gawked at the layout before her. It was completely unexpected; contrary to the elaborate display of romance she was initially prepared for. "I come here when I want to get away from work, and just...paint. That's pretty much it. It's a great way to get out daily frustration and stress...would you like to join me?" He walked over to a bucket of large paint brushes, holding one out for her to take. "Not to mention the spectacular lunch waiting for us afterwards." He grinned broadly, showing off his knee-buckling, megawatt smile.

Raven took the scene in before replying. "We're going to need some water and paper towels." He nodded, holding up another bucket.

"Got it covered."

IIIIIII

She should have known she would get paint in her hair.

And on her cheeks.

And her nose.

But fun could not describe the day well enough.

"You use too much damn blue, Raven," Jason joked, cackling loudly as she spilled most her bowl of previously mixed turquoise. She leered at the mess she made around her feet, looking up at his rainbow of a mess on his canvas.

"It's my favorite color, you ass. And you're one to talk. What exactly are you painting?" He snorted, slightly offended.

"Ouch, girl, that hurt. It's a vivid display of my childhood. Is it so wrong, Raven? Is it so wrong to remember your childhood?" He joked while she wiped up the paint with her brush like it was dripped cake batter.

"Nothing's wrong with that. I'm glad you enjoyed yours." She returned to her canvas, focusing on the outer edges. Jason shrugged.

"Parts of it, but we know how that goes..." He trailed off, staring awfully close to her work. Suddenly, she saw large specks of paint fly in her direction, splattering her cool-toned strokes with bright oranges and reds. Her head shot in Jason's direction, and he held his hands and brush up in surrender.

"Hey, I figured you needed a little color variety," he chuckled. Raven frowned. Two could play at that game, but then again, she knew better. She tisked, chewing on her lip with her wet brush by her hip.

"I'd do the same back to you, but you'd just end up dumping paint on me, and I really don't want to have to go through all that, since I already have paint in my hair."

"You know we could always get that out."

"Really? How?"

"The shower." He snickered, anticipating her to react angrily in a playful manner. Instead, she approached him, her violet eyes quickly holding his focus in a vice grip. She stepped up to the taller, messy-haired man, initiating fiery sexual tension with her chest touching his. She could feel his heart rate speed up, and his eyebrows knitted together, lust aching him. She reached up closer to his face, gaining his full distraction until...

She swiped her turquoise coated brush across his painting.

Raven smiled, stepping back and making her way toward to kitchen while voicing, "Now we're even." Jason just stood there, his groin growling at him, looking back and forth between the demoness and his streaked artwork. He could do nothing but smile.

"Well played, then, Raven." He followed her into the kitchen, reaching over the picnic basket for the bottle of champagne. While she basked in her short-lived win, plopping down on a bar stool, he popped the bottle. Watching her closely, he filled two crystal glasses while she thrummed her fingers on the counter. Her focus seemed to slowly fade, like she was gazing in another world. She did not even notice Jason staring at her until he lightly placed her champagne before her and tapped on the rim with a fork.

"Whoa, there, where'd you go just then?" He kidded as she blushed deeply, lashes facing down in the bubbles of the caramel-colored liquid.

"Nowhere. Just thinking."

"About what?"

She chewed on her lip, feeling a sense of awkwardness overwhelm her. The incense was on her mind, pricking her like a thorn that she never seemed to get rid of. "Um..nothing. It's not important."

Jason stared at her silently discontent expression. He knew that face. He especially knew better than to continue to prod when someone was not yet willing to share. He silently dropped the topic, preparing their lunch on plates and placed one in front of her while he pulled up a stool. Raven took an absent-minded bite into a slice of a sandwich.

She had not sensed any ill-intent from Jason so far, but she began reconsidering her promise she made to herself the moment she became involved with him: to never enter his mind. She was aware of the necessity to maintain mental privacy, and she would not invade that with anyone unless deemed necessary. She wanted to learn to trust someone for once.

After dining in moments of awkward silence, Raven figured she should have been the one to make things right again.

"Mm..mmm. You've got a way with grilled cheese sandwiches."

Her words seemed to brighten his mood as he grinned broadly before taking a bite of his own. "You like it?" She nodded, satisfaction evident and she licked a finger tip in between bites.

"Well, Jason. You're pretty much a three-way package. You're ambitious, creative, and can cook. What's your secret?"

He couldn't help but to let out a hearty laugh She could joke about the simple meal all day, but he did intend for it to rock her taste buds. Besides, he always stuck by his motto, that the easiest way to a woman's heart was through his kitchen...in more ways than one.

"Well, I try. And I'd consider myself a four-way package, if you count my other pa...paintings. That's right." Raven rolled her eyes, but was clearly entertained. He was extremely cocky, but didn't quite cross the asshole line. Therefore, he was tolerable, especially with a drink in hand.

"You're lucky we've nearly finished the champagne."

"In that case, I can say all the inappropriate things I've been holding back since the date began."

Raven picked up her glass, sipping the last dregs slowly. "Don't push your luck."

Jason could not help himself. It was increasingly difficult to avoid his flirtatious verbiage while her legs were so perfectly crossed, accentuating the toned muscles of her thighs. "Well, I learned something new today," He started, pulling his eyes away from the sight.

"And what's that?"

"That Raven loves turquoise and grilled cheese sandwiches." She smirked, swirling the leftover liquid in her glass. Her head peeked up in his direction, heavy from inebriation. "And she doesn't realize just how much I _really_ like her."

Raven's eyes shot wide, and a rosy blush crept across her cheeks, butterflies rising from her stomach to the back of her throat - nearly choking her. She felt like a child, so enchanted by the tiny admission. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I think you're too good to be truly sitting in my studio right now."

"I could say the same for you."

The pair locked eyes, feeling the thick sexual tension surrounding them, constantly looming every time they were together. It was simple chemistry, but Raven began to think it could have been something more. Her bottom lip dropped, heat escaping from her mouth and she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I really like you too."

Jason leaned closer; his cologne was vapor in her nostrils, erecting the hairs down her spine. She knew what was next. Her legs uncrossed, heart pounding as she suddenly felt soft, pillowed lips cushioned against hers. It took her a second or two to fully relax, but she allowed him to kiss her, soft and slow. His left hand cupped her cheek, finger tips pushing through the roots of her lavender locks as the other pulled her up to her feet. He tugged her closer, deepening the kiss while he rested his hold around her waist.

Champagne and a faint hint of cinnamon overwhelmed her taste buds, tantalizing her senses and sending her sanity on a rollercoaster ride. It was as if he was teasing her with his perfect kisses, encouraging her to give in to him and let him take rule over her body. If she did not reel in her emotions, her power could wreak havoc on his studio. Still, she could not escape the enrapturing sensations that he was giving her, feeling herself throb as the lust overcame her control.

Raven forced herself from him, breathing heavily while she called on the gods to give her courage to take hold of her emotions. She noticed Jason's flustered appearance; apparently, he was enjoying it just as much as she. He followed her movements, watching her reaction to such fire.

"What was...what was that?" Raven whispered breathlessly.

His reply was in his dark, sienna eyes, where a newly formed flame for her resided. Jason grabbed her hand, pulling her close to his body for another heated, passionate kiss.

**IIIIIIII**

_**It took me so long to actually be satisfied with this chapter, enough to finally post it. I guess I'm happy now. :) Thank you, wonderful, helpful reviewers! Every review helped me regain a full understanding of the character detail that I am trying to convey. All of you helped make this chapter happen, as well as the later ones. On a side note, the update for Enigma is on it's way. I know, I know, my life can be hectic and distracting. Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! **_


	4. Chapter 4: Intuition

**Chapter 4: Intuition**

Good God, Jason was right. Everything did seem too good to be true.

She could not find a thing wrong with the way she felt; nothing seemed out of place. Every time they met, he would tease her just a second longer, drawing out the inevitable, inescapable next phase to their romance. In her heart, she wanted him, and he knew it, but he would not budge. Not even for a moment.

He would kiss her, like pouring kerosene on a raging fire, only to leave it hungry with nothing to burn or feed on.

What was he doing to her? Raven felt almost powerless around him; he was her kryptonite. One day, she could send Dr. Light crying for a blanket and a pacifier, and later on that night, leave Jason's studio in a melted puddle.

Just the thought of it excited her, and even made her daydream about him during her meditations. It was as if he was making _her_ _wait_. Oh, the sheer irony. He was a walking temptation, leading her on with a chocolate kiss on a string. And yet, somehow he would reach a point where she could not indulge. She always knew when the moment approached. He was waiting for something and holding out for a reason.

And it was driving her mad.

Soon, the Titans began to notice the changes in their neighborhood demoness. She went missing frequently in the middle of the day, and was often gone for the entirety of a weekend. Everyone knew she had been sneaking away to see someone, but no one thought to take it seriously until one day, when Starfire's aching curiosity could no longer be contained by Robin's "privacy" lectures. She was silently watching Raven in the kitchen, paying close attention to her mannerisms and the light hop in her step while she prepared jasmine tea. After five minutes of silence from the alien, Raven looked up from her current task of pouring hot water in her mug.

"Um...Star?"

"Yes, friend Raven?"

"What...do you want...?"

She smiled brightly, excitement bubbling from under her skin. Just when Raven thought she was keeping pretty quiet about Jason...

"Who is he? What is his name? Is he a good friend? Does he like mustard? What does he look like? Is he from Earth? Does he-"

"Starfire...STARFIRE! Damn it, alright, I'll tell you!" exclaimed Raven, nearly dropping the tea kettle. She exhaled loudly, looking around to make sure there were no eavesdropping teammates nearby. It was only a matter of time with her.

"He's...a businessman. The same guy you saw me with at that restaurant about a month ago." Starfire's eyes lit up, hungry to hear more. She could barely contain how ecstatic she was, clamping down on her lip to keep herself from screaming.

"So what Beast Boy said was true? You were doing what is called a "date"? You are in love with this man?"

"No...at least not...yet. Jason and I are trying to take it slow." She replied softly. _Trying_. Starfire's brow furrowed, as if she knew the struggle behind the statement.

"Jason...he must be a very special person for you to desire a relationship with him. I can tell... you have been meeting with him for quite some time."

Raven smiled to herself, recalling the first moment she met him. Who would have known she would be falling for someone like him? Even though his looks and character could sweep any woman off her feet, she did not usually care for his type. But for someone so forward with strangers, he was especially secretive—a trait the pair shared equally. Obviously not many people knew about his artistic outlet, and she was honored to have learned of something so private. But she could only imagine what more there was to learn about him; he certainly was not as enigmatic as she was.

"Yeah, it has been a while. I guess he _is_ special." She her cheeks reddened as she hid them behind her mug.

"When will we all get to meet him? I would love to inquire about his special-ness personally."

"Hmm. Soon...when I know he'll be safe around Robin. You know how he can get around guys he isn't familiar with."

Starfire nodded vigorously, recalling their leader's history. "I suggest you choose a day of which he is most joyous."

Raven looked at the young alien, who was detangling her red mane with a bright smile, blissfully unaware of how right she was.

IIIIIII

The pitter-patter of pedestrian feet momentarily distracted Jason from the deep thought in which he had entrenched himself while waiting for Raven to arrive. He requested that she would meet him at a café downtown for a Friday morning breakfast, but for the first time, she was running late. It was just fine for him, because he needed this extra time to contemplate his next actions for the following week.

He had been contracted by an extremely wealthy politician to complete a medium-scale job in Steel City, and was offered a hefty $160 thousand for its completion. It was not very challenging to him as the previous one was for the same person, and it paid a few hundreds of thousands of dollars less, but it suited him. Besides, he needed to get on her good side; she was a woman with extraordinary power and knew people in high places. Such an ally was very important during the current phase of his life.

So many good things were happening for him around the same time—from his entrepreneurial career to his alternate persona's success, and finally Raven. She was the icing on the cake, in every sense of the phrase.

And yet, he had never been more fearful of that cake in his life.

Jason never forgot about the fact that he was playing a dangerous game by growing so close to a Titan. But she was more than just a beautiful woman he would see from time to time, and he knew it. This was beyond a chase or even a potential fling. He craved a _real_ relationship with her, or whatever that meant when dating a telekinetic, empath demoness. But with the danger of her learning more about his lifestyle, he tried to hold off their emotional and intimate progression. This, inevitably, had become increasingly difficult to do.

Every time they would touch, she would push his barriers further, making him more and more conscious of their obvious connection. And dear God, was it nearly impossible to ignore his impulses. Rather, it was pointless to do such a thing. He could tell she was heated, set ablaze on sight. She would squeeze and pull at him when they kissed, fighting her own forces inside like a red giant on the verge of a supernova. Why on Earth was this crippling him? If she was anyone else, he would have taken her on the balcony in that restaurant before that Plasmus could have even been heard in the distance.

He was Jason Todd, for God's sake.

He could do anything he wanted without any implications on his conscience. He had done it countless times before; it was simply entertaining women in his mind. He loved nothing more than doing just that. And with their initial encounter, he had intentions of doing just that; he had not even planned to continue seeing her for this long. Something was definitely making all of this change. Was it really _just_ his fear of her finding out he was not the quintessional law-abiding citizen?

With all things aside, he could not deny that he wanted her. But was he really going to through with these plans involving the job, despite the risks involved? Yes, he was. He was not backing out of this plan, even with the threat of her piecing it all together. Besides, he always _loved_ a good challenge, and he was not going to let _fear_ get in the way of that.

In the back of his mind, he heard a bell jingling as the entrance door flew open.

"Did you order already? Jason?" a concerned voice echoed in his ears, snapping him back into reality. There she was, pulling out her chair and seating herself in front of him. Dressed casually in denim shorts and a dolman tee, she seemed so relaxed as if her morning had been going smoothly with no issue.

"Yes, I did, two of the specialty brew. For me, course."

He smirked as she rolled her eyes, holding back a bitter laugh. "Whatever. So, what is it that you had to tell me? You said it was so important."

At that moment, a waitress approached the table with two steaming cups in tow. She wore a smile in her blue eyes as she pulled out two creams from her apron. "For you, Mr. Todd. And here's your extra creams, just how you like it," she sang before walking away, hardly acknowledging Raven while she winked at him in a flirtatious manner. He nodded generously, noticing Raven's eyebrow raising indignantly.

"I see you come here often," she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

"Not that...often."

"Hm.." she snorted, but Jason found her jealousy amusing, even while she would never admit it to him. The waitress had a history of overtly flirting with him, and often coming on to him a bit strong. He would have returned the favor a long time ago if only she had been remotely close to his type. Maybe he was a bit shallow at times...or maybe he just had standards.

"Okay, maybe I do come here often..." He held his hands out in defense, peering at her bored expression. She was not believing a second of it.

"Back to the matter at hand."

Jason smirked. What a woman. "Well, I'm going away next week on a business trip," he started, staring at his hands. "It shouldn't be that long, probably about three days. But before that, there's another important thing. Do you remember that company I was telling you about? The one I've been working with for a few months? Well, I've sealed a collaboration with them on this international project, and it's launching in September. It's a huge deal for them and they are hosting a big launch event tomorrow. And...I'd like for you to come with me as my date."

Raven's mouth dropped. He could not be serious. "Tomorrow?"

Jason laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Er...I know it's a bit short notice. I just found out about it yesterday. Apparently they've been planning it since I initially proposed the project to them."

Raven nodded slowly, but could not help but feel anxiety in the pit of her stomach. This was more than just a date. This was her first step into Jason's _world_. She was meeting his colleagues and friends. She was going to be introduced as...who was she supposed to be anyway? An escort?

"It really sounds wonderful and all, and I'd love to go...but I.."

"But what, Raven? Do you really think I'd choose to go with anyone else but you?" Her eyes grew in size, opening and closing her mouth with her words caught deep in her throat. Jason looked up, seeing the waitress at another table with envy in her eyes. He promptly took Raven's small hands into his own, forcing their eyes to meet. He could not believe he was going to do this..but now was not the time for second-guessing.

"I want you to come because this is important to me, and so are you. One day, you'll see what I mean. Here," he reached into his slacks' pocket, pushing past his wallet and pulled out a long, rectangular, velvet sapphire box. His heart skipped and hopped, handing the gift to her, and he watched as her magnifying eyes widened at the sight.

"I want you to take this, and wait until you go home to open it. At that moment, you'll know what it means."

After leaving the café, Raven wanted to do nothing more than sit on her bed and think. Her focus never shifted from the box. Anxiety began to eat away at her, making her feel more uncomfortable. She was losing control.

What was she going to do with herself? This guy clearly had his life in order, and everything else following en suite.

And what exactly were her career goals? To either get killed on some remote planet in a deadly battle or retire when someone cuts her legs off? Sure, she had it all figured out.

Raven could not understand why such a conversation had bothered her to the extent that it did. What was it? Oh, but she knew. She knew in her heart that Jason made her feel "normal". He gave her the experience of being a regular resident of Jump, one who went out on brunch dates and ate danishes and painted stick figures with her hipster boyfr...

The mirror in her bathroom encased with dark energy and shattered.

She cursed, startling herself with both the noise of broken glass and the her shocking realization. Was she really thinking that? She and Jason were not _that_ serious yet...or were they? At that very moment, on an impulse, Raven pulled the box open and inside...was a plane ticket.

A _plane_ ticket.

"Dear Azar...is this real?" Raven asked herself, reading the destination: a roundtrip to Steel City. This could not be true. They had only been seeing each other for about to months. Then, her mind flashed back to Jason's words, and that he had to go on a business trip. Did this really mean that he wanted her to come with him?

She squinted her eyes, feeling a sense of overwhelming doubt wash over her. Something about the ticket did not seem quite right, or at least honest. After a few more minutes of further contemplating, she figured the only logical decision in this was to go with Jason to the event. It was the only way she was going to know his intentions with her, and if he was making real plans for the pair in the future.

Raven hopped off her bed and flew out her room, pulling her hood over her face to conceal the emotions blossoming on her face. In her rush, she bumped into Starfire, who was still flustered from the news she had received earlier that day.

"Friend Raven! You have returned! Did you have the opportunity to join with your dearest boy today?" She said cheerfully, the roses of her cheeks lit aglow. Raven nodded painfully, fighting the urge to clamp her hand over Star's microphone of a mouth.

"Have you seen Robin?"

Starfire shook her head slowly, remembering a conversation she had with the man in question earlier. "No, I have not since you left. He was very busy and he told me that he was preparing for something very important. I believe it had something to do with the Batman." Raven felt a bit of relief. Great, one less issue she had to worry about. Recalling why she left her room, she looked up at Starfire and sighed, starting her words slowly with purpose. She could not believe she was doing this, but at this hour, she had no choice.

"Star...I need your help. I need a special...dress."

Starfire's eyes lit up like a sunrise against an emerald sky.

IIIIIII

Jason parked his car and faced his beautiful date, eyeing the silky dark locks styled effortlessly above her shoulders. She gazed ahead, unmoving silence from her lips painted with a deep, rich shade of dark oxblood. Through the beautiful display, he could somehow sense a mixture of dread and mistrust from Raven's disposition. "You're beautiful, Rae."

She turned to him, staring in the big, cocoa pools in his eyes and recognizing genuineness of his words. She noticed that he only called her Rae when he knew he needed to relate to her on a more personal level. It was more than a simple compliment; it was a plea.

"I already told you, I promise I'll be good."

"I know that, Raven, I just.." he exhaled, a stressful tone in his voice, and she realized that Jason was definitely nervous and under a lot of pressure. She softened her demeanor and touched his hand.

"I can feel your pulse in the air of this car, Jason. What is it that is bothering you so much about tonight?" Truthfully, he was exuding a tremendous amount of cloudy anxiety. He shrugged.

"I just...nothing. There's a lot of people here that you'll have to meet. I don't want you to feel too overwhelmed with all the emotions in the building."

"I'll be fine, Jason. I'll just need you by my side to ground me." She smiled slightly, enough to comfort him. "Thank you for your concern."

Jason stared at her with mixed emotions, rubbing her hand in return as he leaned in to kiss her neck, avoiding her made up face. The action sent streaks of hot lightning down her abdomen, and Raven shut her rolling eyes, her lips parting. The heat escaped her mouth as he lifted his head, unaware of the damage he had done.

At this point, she was about as fragile as a china plate falling on ceramic tile.

And she'd break any second now.

"Stop doing this, Jason," she groaned softly, attempting to deter the inward throbbing. Nothing was working.

"Stop what?" He said, opening the car door and sliding out. Raven could see the Cheshire smile on his face through the back of his head. Asshole. A few seconds went by before she saw him on her side of the car, opening the door and ushering her out.

She rose to her feet, smoothing out her dress around her lap, and took Jason's arm with no other words.

The pair entered the building with smooth blending in, the way Raven preferred so as to avoid the onslaught of attention and emotions. They could do this but for only so long, until people began to recognize the suave individual escorting her. A tall man with slightly grizzled features turned to Jason from a distance, approaching him with a speedy vigor.

This was it.

Raven froze, unsure of what was next, or what to do or say. What was Jason going to introduce her as? Was she going to be haggled over her current employment? Anxiety coursed through her veins, and she feared her powers reacting. All she could do was listen for breaking glass. Slowly, Jason's fingertips squeezed around her arm, bringing her back to reality. He knew what was going on, and he had rescued her just in time.

"Jason Todd! How wonderful it is to see you this evening! You're the guest of honor, of course!" boomed the man's voice as he reached out to shake his hand. Jason reluctantly took it, feeling the strength of his size through the handshake.

"Guisner, it's good to see you. I've got to say, I didn't know you'd literally bring all of Jump city out tonight, but you did."

He chuckled loudly, almost startling Raven. "Oh, you know I'm a man of my word. After all, your proposal is projected to yield some hefty profit for the company and yourself. You must be very proud of your accomplishment." Guisner paused, staring at the beauty beside Jason. His cheeks reddened.

"My God..what an embarrassment I am. How dare I neglect to introduce myself to your beautiful date?" He bowed slowly, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"Forgive me, mademoiselle."

Raven's eyebrows raised in such a fashion that she could not find the words to mentally describe the dramatic visual.

"It is...quite alright, Mr..."

"Guisner. Frank Guisner. A pretty lady such as yourself can call me Frank. I'm Mr. Todd's favorite person in the world, I introduced him to this company. He's exceeded my standards beyond recognition." He leaned in further, pretending to address her individually.

"You've got a hell of a guy on your arm, Miss."

Raven blushed, seeing Jason's reaction to be quietly content with the complements.

"Just call me Raven."

After chatting a while longer with Guisner, and admitting to him that Raven was a Titan (to which he hardly took seriously, but knew that he recognized her from somewhere) Jason finally managed to get away from the overzealous character and guided Raven to their dining table. It was this granted opportunity of alone time that Raven was able to observe the beautiful scenery around them in the ballroom. The high ceiling was decorated with five elaborately sculpted chandeliers, as strands of crystal strung between the spaces and gaps. The room gave off an aristocratic tone, with soft classical music wafting throughout the building, gold and black jacquard printed walls and columns dividing the main area and a walkway from the ballroom.

At their table lay two crystal glasses and a miniature tower display of fabulous finger foods and pastries on top of a gold table cloth.

"Wow. They really took this thing seriously," Raven whispered to Jason, who was reaching for a tiny dark chocolate truffle.

"Honestly, I think they just have great choice in venues. Plus I think this place offers catering. Companies like this always know where to get the best deals."

Raven peeked at the programs on the tables, reading that the formal introduction was not due to begin for another hour since they arrived early. They enjoyed a few more moments alone together, until Jason rose to his feet to lead her back into the crowd of talkative attendees and corporate leaders, but not before flagging down a waitress for champagne. She handed the pair a bubbly glass each before walking off, revealing an unfortunately familiar face to Raven's displeasure. She stepped back, nearly dropping her glass, bringing Jason's attention to the man donned in a black tuxedo, walking toward them.

He had a sinking feeling that he would be there.

"Dick! Where've you been tonight?" Jason exclaimed across the way.

"_Robin_?" Raven whispered aloud to herself, unaware that Jason heard her loud and clear.

"Yep, Robin's here," he said casually, as if it was a typical occurrence. Raven's level of shock rose astronomically when she realized Jason knew who he was, as a civilian and _Titan_ alike. Hot fear immediately set in as she recognized that classic scowl of Robin's the moment he pinned the jeweled anja chakra and violet hair.

"You know-"

"Jason. Glad you made it to your own event but..._Raven_?" Robin lowered his voice, offering a look of flashing disbelief. "What the hell are you doing here?" he said swiftly, masking his broiling anger with his voice but unable to do the same with his uncovered eyes. She could sense an emotion unfamiliar to her in relation to him...a fleeting unguarded moment of envy.

"Wait...you know-"

"She's my _date_ tonight, Dick. Is that a problem? Does she have a curfew I need to know about?" Jason politely sneered, locking eyes with him. Robin glared, balling his hand in a fist. He redirected his glare to Raven, whose growing frustration was evident. She could hardly get a word in.

"So you're seeing _him_? This is the guy you've been _ditching_ us for?"

That was it.

She did not want to make a scene but this was far too much.

"Ditching? What the hell is going on? So you two-"

"What's wrong Dick? You're in your feelings again? What are you, her dad? She doesn't need your permission to be on a goddamn date-"

"Jason!" Raven exclaimed loudly, and a few patrons turned their heads to stare at the noisy conversation. She groaned and stormed off, heading for the hall leading away from the ballroom.

IIIIIII

Robin angrily followed after Jason along the secluded path lined with columns. He was beyond livid with this man for the last time. What made him think he could get away with seducing his teammates? Definitely not while Robin was still around.

"Who in the world of a fuck do you think you are, Jason? What kind of point are you trying to prove? That your repertoire of women that you bed has an extensive _variety_ of species? So you're into heroines now, those who just happen to be on my team?" Jason could only tolerate the verbal assault of bullshit for so long, and he finally stopped in his tracks and spun around fast to face Dick, who nearly crashed into him.

"Before you come to me with that big-shot superhero leader load of egotistical hot shit, please redirect your anger elsewhere. What me and Raven are doing is harmless, Dick. No need for you to go all kickass on me."

Robin sucked his teeth and sneered lowly, beginning to pace in a small amount of space. Jason rolled his eyes. What a dramatic prick.

"I cannot...fathom...of all of the...why _her_, Jason? What is the point of this? And you brought her _here_? For what?"

"Because she's my girlfriend."

He halted, shock overcoming his fury, and slowly turned his head to the taller man in front of him. His eyes squinted as his brow trembled under the struggle of self-control.

"She's...what?"

With renewed confidence after admitting the fact aloud, he smirked slyly. "Yes. Raven is my girlfriend. Do you have a problem with that?" Robin's clenching jaw imprinted through his check along the shadows of a column, giving a striking visual of the inner emotions inside of him. It was hard to tell where they were beginning or ending, even for Jason. He had known him for many years, but when he would get like this, it was almost impossible to read him.

After a long, painful length of silence, Robin sighed and held his temples in his hand. This was a lot to take in for one night. "Alright, Jason. Since she's...with you. You better be serious about her and you better not be fucking around. Please don't give me a reason to kill you." He lifted his stony gaze, locking onto Jason with an unwavering stare. He took a step closer to him, tension growing with each second, and lined himself with him face to face. "Because I can promise you, Jason. I will _not_ hesitate."

"You're only saying that because you know you can get away with it."

"That doesn't change a thing."

"Oh please, _Dick_." He exhaled deeply, filling the air around them with his distinct cologne. "You've got to be kidding me. You're the son of Bruce Wayne. You act as if you've never lived a privileged day in your life."

"You and I the same, _brother_."

A tick went off inside Jason at the mention of that word. He took several guarded steps back and tucked his hands in his pant pockets. "Don't call me that." A genuine smile flashed across Robin's face, and he laughed softly at his words.

"Well, you know technically-"

Don't. It's not up for discussion."

A moment passed before the thick air around them lifted, urging Robin to transition himself out of the conversation on a good note. "I wish for only good things coming your way, Jason. Congratulations on your future endeavors." With his last words, he turned to walk back to the party, but not before Jason grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"One last thing Dick," he started, and Robin returned to face him. Jason reached out to grab his necktie, adjusting it to his own liking. He smirked again, patting his back once he finished, and stepped back and continued down the hall to the exit. Robin watched him walk off, reminding himself of exactly why they were so close, yet so fiercely opposed to each other. Over the years, their friendship had become a rivalry - one that continued to grow stronger with time with an unlikely bond that seemed to remain unbroken.

IIIIIII

_**Hello readers! This summer has been very busy for me, sometimes I don't have time to actually submit chapters. But I never stop writing, this chapter has been a priority for me to finish. The plot has a lot to build on and this chapter needed to have a lot of information, so it took me a while. I hope it is to your liking, and I will try to update as soon as possible. Thank you all, and please, don't forget to review! **_


	5. Chapter 5: A Few True Lies

**Chapter 5: A Few True Lies**

Jason followed the hall down to the gated doorway outside, where he spotted his date sitting on a bench alone. She seemed very uneasy. He pushed the gate open, making a craning noise that pulled her attention to him and she rose to her feet to walk away in the opposite direction.

"Raven, wait!" He cried out, and she momentarily paused before marching away from him. He managed to catch up to her and grabbed her hand, where in she yanked it back.

"Let go of me! You wouldn't even let me speak!"

"I am now, Raven, I'm sorry! Just...talk to me."

She crossed her arms stubbornly, avoiding eye contact with him while she motioned to return back to the bench. "Jason, I came here...with a lot on my mind, and so much to ask you. And tonight, just to make things worse...You're friends or..whatever you are with _Robin?_ You couldn't tell me this before?" She breathed forcefully, getting angrier the more she thought about it. "You know him as Dick Grayson _and_ Robin? And then this plane ticket, and I don't know what we're doing, it's just..."

"Wait a minute Rae-"

"Let me speak." She said, soft and stern. The expression was reminiscent of Robin's, the way he spoke when his ego was bruised. Ugh. The result of being around him too much. "What is this, Jason? What are we doing? I want to know just how serious this is, why did you give me that plane ticket if we're just _dates_? And why were you talking to Robin like that? Am I some kind of prize to you?"

Jason stared at her in awe, wordlessly until he breathed out a nervous sigh. _Here it goes.._

"Dick and I have history," he began with the elephant in the room. "We've been friends for years...you could say we both have a mutual relationship with Bruce Wayne. I'm one of the few people in his life that knows who he really is. We also have a little bit of a...rivalry." He looked to her, noticing her soften as he divulged this information to her. Still, she raised her eyebrow at the last word.

"A _little_?"

Jason chuckled painfully, scratching the back of his head as if she was forcing the truth out of him. " Heh..okay, maybe that's an understatement. Dick can be a...dick to me at times. His whole duel persona thing, he acts as if I have so much to learn from him because he fights bad guys. Hmph. Like he's so perfect," He snorted, looking away, resurfacing old memories he tried to push away over the years.

"I think he thinks he needs to watch over me or something, like I need another parent. Always trying to teach-"

"-you a lesson. Yeah, we go through the same thing as Titans," Raven finished for him, a slight smile making its way across her face. Its presence indicated to him that she was no longer that furious with him. It felt good to be able to relate to her.

"Figures. Look, I could go on about him, but I won't. I think you know him almost as well as I do. I didn't tell you I knew him because his identity isn't something I can talk about often, even to a Titan." Raven blinked, and began to nod in agreement.

"That is understandable."

Jason reached for her hand and held it in his own, touching her bare shoulder with the other. "And I gave you the plane ticket..because I want you to come with me...as my girlfriend."

She turned her head to face him, surprise slowly taking effect across her delicate features. The word was so deliberate and purposeful, yet unrehearsed and authentic. Subconsciously, she knew that everything since yesterday's conversation would lead to this.

"I want you, Raven. I want you to be with me...I don't know how to be an open book, please don't expect me to be. But I'm willing to try. I'm sure you can see...and understand that."

He rose to his feet, pulling her onto her own and held her in an embrace. She was suspended in a state of excitement and shock, unable to word her feelings inside, but she knew that she was content with him. He lifted her chin to meet his eyes with her own.

"I wanted this night to be it...when I tell you about the plane ticket. But something in me wanted to give it to you before tonight, I thought that maybe you'd figure it out," he burst with a light laughter into her shoulder, kissing her neck. "I didn't mean to confuse you."

"Well, you were a bit vague," she added softly, parting from him with her hand in his. "Maybe you should have written "be mine" on the flight itinerary." He flashed his teeth, eying her silky black dress.

"So...does that mean that you'll...?"

"I'll come with you, Jason."

He sighed with relief and pulled her into his chest, kissing her velvety lips. His hands slid down her spine, stopping at her lower back and smiling.

"Is it now okay to for me to say...that your ass looks phenomenal in this dress?" Raven rolled her eyes, playfully shoving him in the side while he stepped back and indulged in the view of her silhouette. "What? I'm serious. The dress looks great on you." Indeed, Raven definitely owed Starfire one for the beautiful calf-length number of the evening.

"So where do we go from here?"

Jason adjusted himself and his cuffs while wrapping an arm around Raven's waist. "Let's go get a glass of champagne."

IIIIIII

"Mr. Todd! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A voice chimed once Jason and Raven stepped foot back into the ballroom. A small crowd of very important-looking people stared at them, with a stout man in the center motioning him closer. "Mr. Todd is the man of the evening! Come, fellow, tell these good people more about your previous experience with Wayne Industries." Jason pulled at his collar, and greeted the individuals with Raven by his side.

The corporate officers enjoyed further small talk and networking, but reacted with mixed emotions when he introduced his date.

"I knew she looked familiar," said a lanky bearded gentleman, whose smile seemed a bit too friendly for Raven's comfort.

"So did I," a quiet voice said behind her, which she turned around to see Robin wearing a mixture of disappointment and a scowl reminiscent of an upset parent. The exciting emotional aura surrounding her suddenly became irrelevant as the inevitable conversation with him reared its head. Raven sighed uncomfortably, and Jason nudged her again to let her know that she was welcome to go and speak with him.

With a polite "excuse me", she stepped away from the crowd and lead Robin to a private corner, away from eavesdroppers. Robin's hands never left his pant pockets, obviously to supplement control of his temper.

"Well...what do you know?" she asked, trying to calm him with her powers and reaching out to his mind to ease the mental barriers. She could tell when he would recognize her strokes of soul because he would try to shut her out, since he knew how it felt for her to be in his mind. It was comforting but distracting him from the matter at hand, and perhaps that was exactly what she wanted.

"How did you meet him, Raven?" he said with a glare. He knew what she was doing.

"At a watch tower for Red X," Raven replied, avoiding her nervous desire to fidget with her clothes. She returned the glare, bold with the ever-present spirit in her violet eyes. "He was up on the same roof as I, on a lunch break. We talked and then we met again at a bookstore. He asked me out to dinner after that."

"And the dinner was..."

"..that night when Plasmus rampaged the city," she finished. "We continued seeing each other after that. And now..here we are."

Robin nodded to himself, in somewhat of approval of her story. "I want you to know something," his eyes hardened, as if a steel wall slammed shut around his mind, preventing her from entering all together. He was definitely aware of what she was doing. "I've known Jason for many years. I know he seems great and all right now but-"

"Robin, don't start.." Raven tried to interrupt, her voice barely there to be heard, but he stopped her.

"You need to hear this. He isn't always a stand up guy, Raven, trust me. I can't stress that enough." Raven found herself tapping her finger tips against her hips, suddenly feeling the urge to escape the conversation. Robin touched her shoulder, sensing her discomfort. She knew he had good intentions, but that did not prevent her from feeling awkward about the whole situation.

The two returned to their respective tables to listen to a series of speeches and long-winded monologues, including Jason, who merely wanted to thank them for the opportunity and returned to his seat. Raven began to ponder why she somehow thought someone was missing from the evening. She tugged at Jason's arm once he sat back down and whispered in his ear, "Was Bruce supposed to come? I know this isn't his event but Dick's table has an empty seat."

He relaxed in his seat further, looking around before responding to her. "I think he was. Dick told me something came up." He shrugged, his eyebrows raising while he sipped a glass of champagne, almost as if he was referring to another secret that was even more well-kept than Dick's.

Jason definitely knew a lot more than he was letting on.

IIIIIII

The clear night sky boasted a gorgeous full moon, outshining the sprinkled constellations around it. Jason's eyes glazed over while he slowly started to daze at the sight of the passing illuminated towers and skyscrapers as he sped down the highway. He shook his head, trying to snap himself out of the oncoming lethargy and stay aware enough to continue the drive. As for Raven, however, he knew sleep was inescapable for her at this point.

"Aw, Rae, it's only 12am, the party's only just begun!" Jason said cheerfully, watching her eyelids slowly give way to gravity. It was the first time Raven had agreed to go home with him after a night out, since Robin was aware of where she would be this time around. His condo was not far from the city, but at a great enough distance to give him privacy and a beautiful view. Once they parked, he carried her out of his car, holding her up with one of his arms and walked into the building and entered the elevator.

"Aw, come on now, people are going to think your drunk or something and I'm dragging you home to have my way with you," he joked, and she rolled her eyes and rested her head on the cool metal elevator wall. At this point, she could care less. She was far too exhausted.

"Let them."

He snickered and grabbed her waist walking out of the elevator once it reached the top floor. "Then the cops will be at my door before the morning comes. Purple hair isn't that common around here." He opened his front door into his home and brought her inside, and before she collapsed on the floor, swept her up in his arms.

"Mmmn...drop me on your couch," she mumbled, sleep slowly taking her and Jason headed for the curved couch facing the French doors to his balcony. He put her down gently, laid back and relaxed, undoing his neck tie and pulling off his shoes.

"Damn, what a night." Raven was just about out of it, so he hurried to the closet and felt around for the nearest blanket. By the time he returned to the couch she had already kicked off her heels and hiked up her dress to sleep comfortably. The sight was incredibly cute, but she was sprawled out across the couch. "So, no room for me?" He whispered, smiling to himself.

"Nope," she muttered, stretching her legs out and arching her back like a napping cat.

"Hm. So you're faking it, huh?"

"No, I'm in a deep sleep."

He pushed her to the side and unfolded the blanket, flaring it around himself. "Since you want to hog my couch and all," he started, finishing his statement by shoving her over further, and she lifted her head in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed and her hair lazing around her head. Oh no...she was the wrong one to play that game with. She yanked a pillow out from under his head and, with her powers, pulled his leg hard enough to slip him off the couch and onto the carpeted floor. Fluffing the pillow, she curled up on the couch comfortably with satisfaction.

"Since you want to push me," she finished.

Jason stared at her incredulously. Oh, this meant war.

He grabbed hold of both of her feet and pulled her off the couch, making her fall with a "thud" and a priceless look of shock on her face. Jason's face suddenly appeared over hers, plastered with a clumsy grin.

"Since you cheated with your powers."

Raven growled and pushed him over, pinning him down on the floor. Damn, she was strong. "Since you started something you can't finish." He smirked, taking a good, long look at her straddling his stomach while holding him down. He was pretty sure he knew who won.

"What makes you think I can't finish?" His voice was thick and deep, fingers sliding across the width of her thighs. She stared down at him, loosening her grip. Jason took advantage of this moment and reached up to grab her face, pulling her lips down to his own. One tiny nibble on her bottom lip and Raven relaxed on his chest, deepening the kiss. She was more than ready for him; it had been obvious to him for weeks.

She was his woman now, his plans seemed in order and the timing was perfect. Nothing was going to hold him back tonight.

He slid her down on his lap and sat up, staring into her lusting eyes while a flame danced around the purple iris. Raven cupped his face and kissed him deep and fervently. He could not fight this, he was _going_ to make love to her any minute now, but he needed her assurance.

Jason ran his tongue across the tip of hers, slipping his hands up the sides of her dress, and left a trail down her jaw to her neck, and bit down..

"Oh my God, J-jason..." She moaned, finally releasing that which she had held in since the moment he touched her.

He kissed her neck, feeling her heart racing under his tongue and he whispered into her skin, "All you have to do is say the word, Raven.."

Each time his skin touched hers a wave of desire washed over her, like euphoria streaming through her blood, waking her up in all the right places. She groaned again when his finger nails softly scratched down her thighs, lifting his head and locked eyes with him.

"I want you, Jason. God, just take me already," she begged, and squeezed and pulled at his shirt, unable to bear the torture any longer. She yanked it open, popping a few buttons. "Please."

Jason rolled her over, rose to his feet and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. "You won't _ever_ have to tell me that twice." he unzipped Raven's dress and she allowed her straps to fall.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked, breathless. He grinned mischievously, sending Raven's heart rate through the roof with the imagery of a thousand possibilities.

"Anywhere you want."

IIIIIII

_**I'm happily updating on a stress-free weekend, after a long, hot week. I know I'm not the only one eagerly awaiting the Fall weather to be upon us. Anyway, as for the lovely update...I'm sorry for it being so short but trust me, I had a valid reason! I hope you all enjoy it. I love to hear your opinions and they help me improve! Thank you, and please review!**_


	6. Chapter 6: Envy

**Chapter 6: Envy**

A cool breeze billowed around Jason's face, blowing the scent of her perfume and jasmine tea through his senses and waking him from a blissful sleep. It was so feminine and familiar, and if it weren't for him being so groggy, he would have opened his eyes sooner. When he finally managed to pry them open, the most beautiful and frightening sight was laid before him to see.

The morning rays crept under what he recognized was the awning of one of his building's rooftop patios, reaching closer across the concrete flooring to touch Raven's strikingly pale skin. She was curled around a sofa pillow (obviously from his apartment) next to him, hair tousled and wild under the red blanket the two slept under. He looked up to see their clothes tossed by the doorway that led to the elevator.

"What...the hell...happened," He said aloud, recognizing the casual symbols of a great night accomplished. However, he had no idea such an epic experience would come once he allowed himself to indulge in his girlfriend's exotic, violet world. Girlfriend. The word rang tones of an unknown territory in his mind, in more ways than one.

Evidently, Jason's husky bed voice made Raven grumble in her sleep. From the looks of it, they had slept on one of the cushioned benches, and were completely naked. Just as he began questioning how much champagne they drank the previous night, the memories gradually began to surface.

"Mmmh, it's so bright.." Raven groaned into the blanket, hiding from the approaching sunlight.

He really hated to wake her from a well-needed rest after last night, but he had to get her back to his place before they would be literally caught with their pants down, or rather, gone. "Raven... you should wake up," he softly touched her head, sliding his fingers across her cheeks.

"..why..."

"We're not in my condo anymore."

His reply visibly confused her; he could see her brow wrinkling and she reached for the rest of the blanket after a cool breeze blew through her hair again. It did not take long before her sleepy mind put two and two together.

Raven's eyes shot open and she jolted up quickly, the blanket falling off her chest and exposing her breasts to the sunlight. Her puffy eyes squinted to adjust to the brightness and an expression of sheer horror struck her.

"What the hell, Jason? What happened?"

"Heh. Well, I'm sure you can remember."

She had no time to indulge in such actions and hurried to her feet, wrapping the blanket around her like a towel and leaving Jason bare and bold. She glimpsed at his physique and his biological reminder that the hour of the day was still quite early. Now that he had mentioned it, she could remember everything...almost. Her stomach fluttered with the memories of love-making, minus recalling exactly how they got on the rooftop.

Once again, fate was dealing an ironic hand.

"Um...in case you didn't notice the obvious, I'm naked too, you know," He whispered loudly, and stretched to his feet to grab their clothes from the doorway. "And if I'm not mistaken, coming to the roof was _your_ idea. If we leave now, we might be able to sneak in without being noti-"

"What unit number is it?"

Jason snatched his pants and her dress from the doorknob and spotted a pair of underwear nearby. He quickly used it to cover his private area. "1032, one floor down." Without any warning, she grabbed his arm, muttered an incantation under her breath, and transported them back into his home. Once she dropped her grip, Jason wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. It was as if the moment she let go of his body a wave of frosty wind whipped around him, chilling his blood and bones.

"_Holy shit_...th-that was helpful and-d all but why'd you have t-to make it so cold?" Jason stuttered, shivering. She shrugged, staring at his nude form, and blushed. Even though he was losing feeling in his external limbs, it still turned him on to see her body reacting to him, like an innocent maiden.

"I'm sorry, that tends to happen," she said quietly, tightening the hold of the blanket wrapped around her. Her actions gave him an idea, and he raised his eyebrow curiously.

"Well, now...I guess it's your job to keep me warm th-then." He slipped his hands under the folds of the blanket and touched her smooth, pale skin underneath. She was incredibly warm and he pulled her closer, opening the blanket and allowing his frigid skin to touch hers. Raven jolted back from the shock of his coldness, but he held her tight against his rigid body. "Nope, you did this, you have to fix it."

She rolled her eyes as his frozen hands began to roam across the sensitive curved plane of her figure, enjoying the forbidden sensation of her nudity, and pulled her thigh up to his waist. At that moment, she felt him hardening against her, and a rush of amorous moments from last night flooded her brain.

"I think...we should clean up first," Raven said between gasps, looking at the mess they made in his apartment. She could see two bottles of wine, one of which was half full, on the dining room table. She squeezed his traveling arms once they made their way around to the front, and gasped when his finger grazed over the curve of her hip bone.

"Oh don't worry, sweetheart," he softly cooed, lowering his lips onto hers. "We can always shower together."

IIIIIII

Robin looked up to the sky and noticed that his legs had led him to his favorite place to think, relax, and simply be alone. Sometimes, Raven would come up to the roof with him, knowing what time he would be there, only to enjoy the peaceful silence and subtle oceanic sounds at sunrise. Other times, they would talk as long as their hectic lives would allow them. Next to Alfred, she was the best listener he had ever known in his life.

Her wisdom would often give him the shuddering chill as if he were speaking to a long-since passed soul. Raven helped to keep him grounded, and reminded him that being only human was okay. He did not need to be invincible all hours of the day; sometimes he could just be Dick Grayson, even in his suit. She saw that in him; she read the complex beauty of his inner storm of emotions and could interpret the eye without catching a glimpse.

But sometimes, even Raven needed to know that she had someone who could listen to her too.

Of course, one could not expect Raven to open up that often, but she knew who to go to when meditation was not enough to shed the frustrations of her life.

He sighed heavily, remembering the first time they shared a rooftop sunrise, and then the last moment that he had seen his best friend. Last night, she was no less than a brand of beauty so rare to his natural planet. The sharp bob cut she typically wore was styled with soft fluid waves and complemented her hourglass frame, uncensored by the absence of her dense cloak. She was...blossoming into her age, carrying her tumultuous journey on her shoulders and taking confident strides into adulthood.

He rubbed his gloved hand across his face, reminding himself that he had to snap back into reality. Raven was his teammate. That was all she was and that was all he could expect her to be.

Still, he had to admit that he admired her new, bold confidence. She had hidden this side of herself behind a cloak for so long, and he had almost forgotten that she had curves just like any other young woman her age.

Maybe it was time for a costume change.

No... she wouldn't do that. At least, only on her own terms.

In truth, he liked seeing her in makeup and a dress (willingly), even if she was with... He rolled his eyes, something no one ever could tell he did behind his mask. Jason was always doing this. It seemed as if he was always looking for a reason to one-up him, and now he was targeting his teammates. Robin was not going to be held responsible for this inevitable heartbreak, but he did not want to be the mutual friend in the middle of this, even though Raven would not put him in such a position. Still, he knew his role in this was larger than he would admit to himself.

Luckily, drama seemed to be subdued that morning, and he stayed there for another hour or two allowing his mind to wander and releasing stress into the beauty of the skyline. He finally left for the common room, where he found said Titan sitting on the couch with a book in her hands, enjoying the temporary silence. The sight nearly shocked him into a stupor, and immediately changed his mood.

"When did you get in?" He asked, stepping closer slowly, anticipating a mad rush of noise any minute now. She pushed a strand of hair out of her view and behind her ear, hardly turning to see his face.

"About a half an hour ago." She looked at him, narrowing her eyes as if she was reading fine print. "You seem rather...relaxed. Where did you come from?"

"The rooftop," he replied casually, and her stomach lurched up into her throat. The thought of any rooftop continued to send last night's memories to the surface. It was so bad that she even feared she would start projecting explicit mental pictures, and she would be kicked out of the tower for sure.

_Two rooftops,_ Raven thought, adjusting herself in her seat and reaching for her hood to hide her severe blush.

"You should've seen it. It was great," Robin finished before heading for the kitchen. Raven exhaled with relief, but it was short-lived.

"Raven! Dearest friend!" sang Starfire, gliding into the room with exciting questions in tow. She plopped down beside her, a massive grin on her orange face. Raven could not help but return the joy from the alien girl; after all, she had done a lot for her lately.

"Hey Starfire." She lowered her voice to a hush. "Thanks...for that..._thing_ you did for me. I really-" Her breathing had been cut short by the rib-crushing embrace of the strong woman, expressing her own gratitude with a deadly hug. "en...joyed...the.."

"Ohh, Raven, you are most welcome! I am pleased that I could have been of assistance.."

Assisting what?" Cyborg inquired, searching for the remote while Beast Boy landed on the couch in the form of a tiny playful puppy. "Yeah, what are you guys talking about?" Beast Boy added. Starfire wore nervousness about as well as a jittery chihuahua, and fought for words to say.

"Oh...we were just-"

"-having a _private_ conversation," Raven concluded sternly, clenching her jaw, and Starfire flashed her perfect smile to her two clueless teammates.

Beast Boy simply stared at her blankly. "Right...so, where exactly did you go last night, Raven?" He inquired like a curious sibling, eager for a story to copy back to a parent. "We all know Robin had business with the Batdude. But what's _your_ excuse?" Raven could only glare blankly, mouth opening and shutting with, for the first time, nothing to say. Starfire gnawed on her lower lip, fighting her inner battle to hold everything inside.

"Yes, Raven, we're all curious to know where you went," Robin added, appearing on the side of the nearest couch arm. She turned and leered at him, sending shards of promised threats of a tortured future in a forbidden dimension. The clock had not even hit noon yet, and Robin was already allowing his inner shithead out to play. "So, where did you-"

"Oh, come on, Rob! You don't see anyone else hounding _your_ ass when you disappear on soul-searching missions! And contrary to popular belief, you have _a lot_ of them!" Cyborg interjected angrily, shoving his finger into Robin's tightened chest. "Don't be a hypocritical asshole. Same thing for you, BeastBoy," he turned around to the pouting changeling.

Robin narrowed his eyes in Cyborg's direction, but before he could verbalize his comeback, Raven had opted to speak up. As much as she was grateful for Cyborg sticking up for her, she was sick of hiding her love life from her team, and at this point, and she was not going to give Robin the satisfaction of being the inside man.

"I was with my...boy.._friend_."

Dead panned silence stilled the room with such stiffness as if it were its own entity surrounding the team. Raven closed her eyes, then reopened them to see their mixed reactions.

Starfire wore a knowing, joyful smile, pleased with their discontinued secrecy. Beast Boy appeared genuinely shocked, but not entirely surprised. Cyborg's level of shock seemed to balance itself between disbelief and denial. And Robin's expression had turned stone cold and stoic.

"I..._knew it!_ That guy was your boyfriend? Back when Plasmus broke out?" Beast Boy broke the silence, jumping up in excitement.

"Er...yes..I mean, no. At least, not at the time, he wasn't."

Cyborg huffed, crossing his massive arms similar to how a patriarch would do. "We_ are_ going to meet him, right?" Raven tapped her kneecaps, fighting her nerves.

"Raven wishes to introduce her boy to us soon!" Starfire finished, looking up to see Robin's blanked façade, and recalled her conversation with Raven earlier that week. Her grin slimmed to an unsure smile. "Perhaps...on a better day, yes?"

Raven only sighed.

"So Raven's got a thing for the hotshot, suit-and-tie guys in Jump, huh?" Beast Boy pushed his chest out obviously.

"How do you know what she likes, BB?" Cyborg pointed.

"Because, the dude had on a _suit and a tie._ They're always a bunch of jerks. Nothing like _me_." He flexed an arm, which fell a bit limp, but he continued to cheese smugly.

"Why would they want to be like you, Beast Boy?" Starfire innocently stared at the Titan standing in front of her, seriousness all over her face. A short period of silence fell before the team roared with laughter, teasing the short elfin boy as he tried to make light of the joke. In the midst of the playful arguing, Raven managed to slip away and floated through the doorway leading her from the common room.

She breathed, relieved as she made her way for the hallway leading to her room.

"Beast Boy's right, you know," echoed a voice following her. She spun around to see Robin, boldly standing at a distance from her, walking forward to close the gap. "Those guys are a bunch of jerks."

Raven looked up at the ceiling, searching for strength from an unseen source.

"Conveniently being an asshole today, are we?"

Robin cocked his head to the side, looking honestly confused. " I have no idea what you're talking about."

"And you call him a jerk."

"He is."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

He huffed, making another step closer to her. "I know him, Raven. I know the type of guy he is, his game, the nonsense he runs on women." He turned up his nose to her. "I thought you would've seen through his bullshit a long time ago."

Raven pushed back her hood from her face, revealing an expression she would only wear when she was busily reading someone. "Hm. Funny, he's not even here and I'm finding myself having to do that right now."

"I'm fucking serious, Raven!" Robin said loudly and stunned her, almost losing his composure. The angry emotions of it all started to rile him up inside. "I don't want you to get hurt by him! I know him well enough to know he doesn't have your best interest at heart!" Raven hardly flinched.

"I'm a big girl, Dick. I can take care of myself."

"You're honestly going to allow him to do this to you? Take advantage of you, feed you lies...he doesn't do serious relationships, Raven, even if you are a Titan!" Robin was standing dangerously close to her now, invading her senses with his angry, cloudy emotions. He shook his head. "You don't understand-"

Raven raised a finger to his mouth, shutting his lips immediately. It was almost as if she was working to bore holes into his mask, forcing him to reveal those hidden soul windows.

"No, Robin. _You_ don't understand. You're forgetting that I'm an empath. I know why your heart is racing at 118 bpm. I also know why endorphins are pooling in your bloodstream, and why you're always shutting me out of your mind when we both know you have no memories to hide from me."

She lowered her finger from his lips, staring into the wordlessness of his expression. "It's not your mind that I need to be in to know you know that you envy him."

With her last words, she turned to march away, heading for her door to her room. By the time he found the words to say in return, she had already shut the door.

He groaned with frustration, slamming his fist into the wall beside him.

What had he done?

IIIIIII

"Let's see. Hm. I'll get the French instead," Jason directed to the baker while he tasted the sample slices of bread. He had been driving home from work when he remembered that Raven was coming to his place that night instead of the following morning for the flight. After such a long day, he had no other desire but to stay home and eat a homemade dinner...then make a scrumptious dessert out of Raven on top of his kitchen counter.

He quickly shut his eyes, trying to push the image of her screaming his name while a pot of pasta boiled over beside them.

If his imagination kept this up, he was going to have to leave the grocery store with a bag hiding his groin.

"Nice car, ass wipe," a condescending voice rang in his ear. He turned around and saw the black-haired son-of-a-tycoon picking up a loaf of sourdough and smirking under his dark shades.

Jason feigned a painful surprise, biting back a laugh. "Oh, fancy meeting _you_ here! Bored as usual, stuck to stalking me while I shop for bread?" Dick gripped his broad chest, sincerely entertained.

"Not at all. Just here to get a few things straight."

"Great. So you follow me to a grocery store while I'm shopping for dinner ingredients, even with my 14-hour-old-purchase of a new car?" Jason shook his head, snatching another sample of bread and taking a bite. "Sounds like boredom to me."

Dick only shrugged, tapping his fingers on the glass display of baked goods. "When I need to find you, I will. You of all people know this. And we both know its time to cut the charade." His arrogance sent an irritated twitch off in Jason's brain.

"What _charade_, Dick?"

"The one where you play cat and mouse with my teammates."

"What's the chase, then?" Jason sneered, picking up his wrapped cut of ribeye steak from his cart, "-if I've already caught the mouse. Or cat, whatever works in my favor. There's no more chase. Just enjoying the fruit of my labor."

Dick initiated a long staring match, balling and unballing his fist in his pocket. "What have you got up your sleeve this time?"

Jason smiled with a soft grin, an honest display of joy in his eyes, and walked around the front of his cart to face Dick, who was visibly reacting opposing of him. Jason reached out and pulled him in a big hug, confusing Dick while he patted his back. "Don't worry about a thing, good friend. Raven's in good hands. I'm not going to hurt her." He paused, pulling away from the hug. "If anything, worry about her hurting _me_. She's more threatening than I am, trust me. Oh, but she's got a heart of gold."

"You don't love her," Dick growled, looking up at Jason from under the broad frame.

"Of course I don't. It's too soon for that."

"Not too soon for you to sleep with her."

Jason stopped and stared into Dick's eyes, seeing something he had not noticed before. How could he have overlooked this? "No...I gave that time too. There's nothing to rush. Right?" He saw it glimmering, shining brightly, almost boasting- "So difficult to hold back with such a woman..those eyes and that _body_. After so many years, how could you _not_ take a look?" He was eyeing him closely now, reading every movement and gesture. He was waiting for the moment that would confirm his suspicions.

"Sure, I've taken a look. Nothing more than that," Dick replied, recognizing the closeness of the stare. Jason held his chin.

"Are you sure..nothing else happened?"

Somehow, the tables had turned on him in this confrontation, and Dick noticed it. This was his cue to leave. "No, Jason. Raven and I have a bond, we're very close. I take things involving her seriously."

Jason wore a look of sheer humor, as if everything he was hearing was sheer nonsense. "Uh huh... you have a thing for her, don't you?"

Dick's entire face, including his neck, turned beet red with embarrassment. He could not believe what he was hearing. "W...what?"

"You heard me, Dick. I've known you for years. Your eyes don't lie. Maybe concealing them is your way of keeping your lies intact, I don't know nor do I care. But you _do _have a thing for her, that's for sure." The smirk on his face seemed well deserved as Dick's response to his accusation became more and more suspicious.

"I do _not_.."

"Oh, come on. You don't need to defend yourself. Whatever you _dream_ doing to her is none of my business. You just need to know that what I actually do _with_ her is absolutely _none_ of your business." With his last words, he walked away pushing his cart, looking through the variety of cheese in the adjacent aisle.

IIIIIII

It took all the power in her body to keep herself from levitating over the hundreds of heads rising up the escalator. No, that would be rude. Not to mention, seriously freak out the entire airport. Raven's patience was wearing thin, and had the bald Tyrannosaurus-sized guy behind her not been standing there, she would have tossed her luggage over the top of Jason's head.

She bore daggers into his soul, standing like an angry meerkat holding her lighter baggage close to her chest.

"This is all your fault."

Jason tried to appear seriously hurt. "How?"

"If you hadn't been so last minute with everything, we would've been on time and would've avoided _this_," she angled her head in the direction of the mass of motionless people on the escalator. "I feel like we're the only ones in a rush."

Don't worry, we'll make it, Rae."

He tried to lighten her mood by flashing a toothy grin, but she returned it with a deadpan glare.

"The flight leaves in two minutes."

Jason nodded, as if nothing was wrong with the world. It only infuriated her even more. They finally reached the top of the escalator and by the time they reached the terminal's gate, their flight had long since gone. Raven's self-control was just about worn out and lights began to flicker around them.

"We missed...the flight, Jason. _Missed it_. Do you realize that?" He only nodded slowly, eyes looking past her head. Before she could spit fiery anger in his direction, he grabbed her luggage and held it out to someone behind her.

"Welcome, sir. Did you have a pleasant trip here?" Said a chipper, youthful voice of a tall serviceman, taking Raven's luggage with one hand.

"Especially pleasant. The escalator is still a drag, though." Raven started the interaction in confusion.

"Terribly sorry for that, sir. The inventory elevator should be finished no later than November."

The serviceman lead the couple to a golf cart that took them to a secluded gate on the other side of the airport. Outside was a private plane waiting on the other side of the gate.

"What the _hell_ is going on, Jason?" Raven hummed through her teeth once the golf cart stopped in its tracks. The driver stepped out and took their luggage from the rear. Jason only smiled, hopping off the seat and holding out his hand. "Your real chariot awaits. Why travel with other passengers when you can travel privately?" Raven's uneasy disposition relaxed, but she continued to stare at him, perplexed.

"Complements of your tour guide, Monsieur Todd."

"I've been to Steel City before."

Jason lifted her up from the seat and wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing her cheek softly. He felt her soften against him, as if he had finally tapped into the lovable goo under her diamond-cut shell. "Not with me, you haven't. And definitely not in style."

IIIIIII

_**Hello, readers! I'm hoping to take care of my pending updates before the end of this month, perhaps the next chapter soon. Busy is an understatement for me, but I'm very dedicated to this and the upcoming Part II of **__**Enigma**__**. Look out for it this coming week. I absolutely love hearing from you guys, especially my favorite authors! Thanks for reading and please review! **_


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